Chapter 008: Monster

Zhong Shenxiu covered her heart, as if she could hear the vigorous beating of her heart

The Yanhan Second Empire is truly home to exceptional figures of swordsmanship and martial arts. In contrast, even the most skilled practitioners among ordinary soldiers and heroes of the martial world, who have cultivated to their peak and returned to their innate state, can only be considered as having barely reached the entry-level skills of others. The disparity between them can be described as that of heaven and earth.

Quickly... escape back to the village

Knock knock

There is a high possibility that one will indulge in a feast

It is a pity that martial arts are sought after, while the path of immortality is hard to attain

The black mist is not fixed in one place; it occasionally spreads and diminishes.

Zhong Shenxiu gazed at this scene, feeling a deep sense of foreboding: "In the midst of the black mist, even the most ordinary monster is so difficult to deal with. No wonder the people of this world turn pale at the mention of the black mist... However, after this encounter, I have finally gathered enough points for a Heavenly Talent..."

Su Jun

The dense black mist dissipated, and after being injured, this monster actually fled

What is that thing! Is it related to the black mist

Turning his head, he saw Zhong Shenxiu circling around the corpse of the bear man, and could not help but approach, asking: "What has Su Jun discovered?"

How many people earnestly seek the path of cultivation, yet spend their entire lives without gaining entry to it

You little rascal, if you act recklessly again, be careful for your life!

Su Jun ... ... you ... ...

At this moment, the giant dog clearly fixed its gaze on them, let out a low growl, and pounced forward

What level of weapon could inflict heavy casualties on a small squad of Bear Yi tribesmen

Zhong Shenxiu forcefully turned the corpse of the bear man over, revealing a shattered piece of armor on its back, exposing a gruesome wound.

This temporary occurrence will soon vanish, but it will inevitably leave behind a scene of devastation

The giant dog lunged forward, its blood-red tentacles thrashing wildly as if it had grown dozens of arms, directly blocking the flash of the blade. With a wide-open mouth, it bit off Xue San's arm that was holding the knife

Xue San and the others can only run faster

The two toads lay on the back of the bear man, their noses twitching a few times, and exclaimed: "I smell the scent of the injured bear man, which is the same as the scent of the one who damaged the fields..."

From the wounds, it is highly likely that the assailants of the bear-like creatures are monsters from the black mist. Such monsters are mostly extremely hostile towards living beings. Now, as they linger nearby and see so many villagers gathered, it is as if they have laid eyes on a feast.

Su Dao is certainly not a genius; he is utterly lacking in both literary and martial accomplishments, and his understanding of Daoist principles is even more chaotic.

However, this time, the military's formation of blades proved to be ineffective

The husky barked loudly: "We do not fight our own people!"

Just as I was thinking this, a scream rang out: "Look over there!"

It resembles a giant dog entirely covered in black, yet it is adorned with blood-red vines that seem to have deeply penetrated the flesh, replacing the bones, and protruding from various parts.

Yet three to five bear men can easily annihilate them

At this moment, Xue San, along with Huang Xie and Er Ha, also approached him, gazing at the boundary of the black mist, murmuring: "This sudden eruption of black mist is likely due to some dangerous creature having escaped... it will soon dissipate."

The old village chief shouted hoarsely, while many villagers cried out for their parents and siblings, not even having time to gather their spoils and the bodies of their companions, as they fled towards the village to save their lives

Zhong Shenxiu had some suspicions, but absolutely did not dare to verify them. A misstep caused him to run far away.

He was, after all, the number one in the world in the previous era, possessing extremely rich combat experience

He was closing his eyes, awaiting death, when suddenly he heard the sound of a blade ringing

It is evident that the techniques employed by Su Dao are the most pure military swordsmanship, yet each move and stance appears to be honed through countless trials and refinements

Since the extermination of the Xiong Yi tribe, the remnants have turned into bandits, which is quite common. However, most of them operate in groups of three to five, and it is rare to find one acting alone

A fellow who was in the same group as Zhong Shenxiu vanished without even having the time to shout

After several years of interaction, I was completely unaware that you, Su Jun, are such a genius in the art of the sword

Zhong Shenxiu burst out of the black mist, blinking, and truly could not remember the name of this passerby who was in the same group as him

Zhong Shenxiu looked to the west and saw a patch of black mist, which, under the blazing sun, showed no signs of weakening. Instead, it resembled a monstrous beast with bared fangs and claws, continuously spreading its form towards the village

They managed to defeat a single bear man only after surrounding him with their group

Zhong Shenxiu observed that the black mist had expanded to this extent, seemingly reaching its limit

It seems that there was some enemy encountered before, and only one remains

Xue San approached, his expression grave

Xue San's mind was shaken as he saw Su Dao wielding the Goose Feather Blade, moving with the blade in hand, and unexpectedly severing several iron whip-like tentacles, forcefully breaking through the encirclement

Xue San was drenched in cold sweat, realizing that he and his companions had already been targeted by this monster. Escaping would be futile, so he let out a roar: "Form a formation!"

After all, he is a strong soldier in the army and also a practitioner of martial arts

Even so, there arose a thought of extending the employment period a little to look after this nephew

Let's give it our all

In other words... is that monster still lurking nearby

Whoosh

The black mist surged violently, almost like the tide of the Qiantang River, crashing directly towards us. It had originally been several miles away, yet in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of us

The giant dog seemed oblivious, its vines resembling iron whips, striking down and sending the spear from the hands of the two toads flying, causing it to fall to the ground with a wretched cry

At the very moment he departed, a thin mist had already enveloped the surroundings, causing visibility to plummet; it was not quite to the point of being unable to see one's own hand, but it was not far from it

Xue San let out a cry of despair and fell to the ground. He then saw Huang Xie being knocked down by a giant dog. The black dog opened its massive jaws, resembling a blooming chrysanthemum, as if it intended to swallow Huang Xie whole. A sense of dread filled his heart, realizing that not only was his group doomed today, but even the nearby village would likely face total annihilation.

As I approached closer, I realized that those were not tree knots, but rather a multitude of eyeballs

A peculiar monster slowly emerged from the black mist

It seems that only the esteemed cultivator can handle this... A trace of cold sweat involuntarily appeared on Xue San's forehead

The giant dog let out a mournful howl, yet did not die; instead, countless strands of flesh spread from its wounds, its entire body pulsating and swelling, transforming into a mass of flesh that rolled into the black mist

But immediately, within the black mist, there were two crimson eyes that seemed to be staring at this group of people

The crimson vines from earlier were merely a part of it

Even so, a single strike was delivered towards the giant dog, rescuing Huang Xie

However, Zhong Shenxiu is different

From the black mist, several crimson tentacles suddenly emerged, resembling the vines of ancient trees, each adorned with nodes akin to tree galls

At this moment, with a knife in hand, the person moved like a swimming dragon, leaping forward and stabbing the giant dog's eye with a single thrust of the knife

Once you move more than ten meters away, you completely lose sight.

Huang Xie stared with wide eyes, finding it somewhat hard to believe

He knows that although his nephew has some ability, more often than not, he is somewhat... naturally slow-witted

Woof woof

Zhong Shenxiu's expression changed suddenly, realizing that something significant was amiss

We are leaving as well

Huang Xie grasped his nephew's ear, earnestly instructing him, fearing that this fellow might next send him into trouble.

The scarlet tentacle did not catch Zhong Shenxiu, but instead rolled to the side.